Pentagon: Probe Backs Haditha Charges
Marines Accused Of Deliberately Killing 24 Iraqi Civilians
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Video taken by an Iraqi human rights group shows the aftermath of an alleged massacre by U.S. Marines in Haditha, Iraq. (Hammurabi Human Rights Group)
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Iraqis burn an American flag during a protest march denouncing Israel's Sunday attack in southern Lebanon, Monday, July 31, 2006, in the Shiite area of Sadr City, Baghdad. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
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Iraqis wounded in a massive car bomb are carried away from the scene, Tuesday morning, Aug. 1, 2006, in the Karradah neighborhood of Baghdad. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service have completed their initial work on the incident last November, but may be asked to probe further as Marine Corps and Navy prosecutors review the evidence and determine whether to recommend criminal charges, according to two Pentagon officials who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity.
The decision on whether to press criminal charges ultimately will be made by the commander of the accused Marines' parent unit, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, Calif. That currently is Lt. Gen. John Sattler, but he is scheduled to move to a Pentagon assignment soon; his successor will be Lt. Gen. James Mattis.
Investigators conducted a wide range of interviews but did not obtain permission to exhume the bodies of the 24 who were killed, one official said.
NCIS officials who spoke to CBS News said they still have several weeks of work to do. Evidence has been gathered from photos taken by the Marines themselves and from forensic evidence, "as much as you can get five months after the fact."
The officials said NCIS has conducted "tons and tons of interviews" — everyone in the Marine unit, people who were there, people who ran away. Some 45 to 50 NCIS agents have been involved in the investigation.
Meanwhile, in ongoing violence in Iraq, 14 young Iraqis were killed when explosions hit two soccer fields in Baghdad on Wednesday. Eleven were killed by hidden, homemade bombs in the western part of the city. Police said the dead ranged in age from 15 to 25. Fourteen others were injured in the blast.
In a separate incident, police reported three people under the age of 15 were killed when a mortar shell hit a soccer field in a residential neighborhood.
In other developments:
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